Camarillo, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Municipal Code Sec. 10.42.030
- Hardship exception
- involuntary camping (Sec. 10.42.040)
- Warning required first
- before any citation (Sec. 10.42.030(E))
- Property removal notice
- 3 days posted before removal
- Personal effects storage
- 90 days before disposal
- First-offense penalty
- misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine
Summary
Camarillo bans camping, sleeping, and storing unattended belongings including tents and camp paraphernalia on any public place, from parks to sidewalks to publicly maintained drainage basins, under Municipal Code Sec. 10.42.030. Living out of a car, trailer or RV on public property is also prohibited, though a hardship exception applies when camping is truly involuntary.
A.No person may camp on a public place.B.No person may store unattended personal property, including camp paraphernalia, in any public place.C.No person may use any car, trailer, camper, recreational vehicle, or mobile-home as a dwelling or as living quarters to camp on any public place.D.No person may camp or store unattended personal property, including camp paraphernalia, on any privately owned property to the extent that such camping or storage was not authorized in advance by the property owner, or despite advance authorization, is otherwise deemed a public nuisance.E.No person will be cited under this chapter unless the person engages in conduct prohibited by this chapter after having been notified by an enforcement officer that the conduct violates this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 27 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
030 prohibits camping on any public place, storing unattended personal property including camp paraphernalia there, and using a car, trailer, camper, recreational vehicle or mobile home as a dwelling to camp on public property. 'Public place' is defined broadly in Sec. 020 to include parks, outdoor recreation areas, public and private parking lots open to the public, drainage culverts and basins, landscaped areas, streets, sidewalks and alleyways. The chapter also reaches unauthorized camping or storage on private property when the owner hasn't consented or when it becomes a public nuisance.
Sec. 040 carves out an exception when a person can affirmatively show camping is involuntary or unavoidable due to circumstances beyond their control, though the city can still abate a condition that threatens public health or safety even then. No one can be cited under the chapter, per Sec. 030(E), unless an enforcement officer has already notified them that their conduct violates it. When personal property is removed under Sec. 050, the officer must tag and date the location with a notice giving at least three days to reclaim items before they're deemed abandoned, unless the property poses an immediate health or safety threat, in which case it can be removed without notice.
Removed personal effects, such as medication, sleeping bags, tents and clothing, are inventoried and stored for ninety days under Sec. 060 before the city may dispose of them under Sec. 070.
Violations & Fines
A first camping citation requires a prior warning from an enforcement officer under Sec. 10.42.030(E); only a repeat violation after that notice can be cited. From there, camping and storage violations are enforced under the city's general penalty chapter: a misdemeanor under Sec. 1.12.060 with up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or an infraction under Sec. 1.12.070 with escalating fines of $100 to $500. Unclaimed personal effects are disposed of after ninety days, and other unlawfully stored property is treated as abandoned and may be destroyed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is camping illegal in Camarillo?
What happens to a homeless person's belongings if the city clears an encampment?
Is there an exception for someone who has nowhere else to go?
Can the city immediately throw away someone's tent and belongings?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Camarillo
California rules heatmap·Compare Camarillo to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
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How other cities in Ventura County handle encampment sanitation.